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by Nina Pineda
(Queens-WABC) In Queens, one man is dead after a collapse at a construction site. Rescuers scrambled when some construction workers became trapped under a fallen concrete slab in a trench, but there was little they could do for one of them.
It happened on 92 Street in Elmhurst, where Nina Pineda reports with the story.
When rescue workers arrived they didn't know how many people were under the rubble, they just knew that time was their enemy. They managed to get to two of them within about 20 minutes, but sadly one was probably killed instantly when the wall collapsed.
The victims were digging away at dirt supporting a concrete slab. One worker escaped with lacerations, another had his shoulder crushed and was temporarily pinned.
But the wall -- 30 feet long, six feet high and two feet deep -- landed squarely on the third victim, crushing him between it and the ground.
Chief Pat McNally, FDNY: "They were just laying a new foundation here. And it appears to have collapsed on the men."
Lt. John Hopkins, FDNY: "You're working under pretty tough conditions. And everything there was in question because the wall had let loose. And you're working with concrete, and we did the best we could. We were able to move the equipment with the airbags, get enough space between him and the ground, and we pulled him out."
The contractors in charge of construction would not comment on what went wrong with the excavation. The Department of Buildings has issued a stop work order for failing to provide protection -- no shoring, sheeting or bracing of an eight-foot deep hole.
When the wall collapsed, neighbors say they were woken up to a loud 'bang' and then shouting.
First Resident: "I just heard a bang, and then helicopters and sirens and everything. And that's about it."
Second Resident: "It was horrible. You just pray for somebody like that, they lost their lives and they're not going home to their family. It's a terrible thing."
The DOB says that both the owner and the contractor have been cited, but it's going to be up to the D.A.'s office as well as OSHA to decide if there will be criminal prosecution.
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